Aftermath
by xxTwasADreamxx
Summary: She was left standing, alone, in the aftermath. Rated Mature for violence, sex, language. SayidxOC
1. Chapter 1

Hi! So this is my first long fanfic (I have two other Dark Knight oneshots if you're interested :)). I've been writing scenes from this for a while, and have tons and tons of stuff, and finally decided to turn it into a full on, put together story. This is just a preview to see if people are interested.

This is going to be a romance between my OC Elliot (who I'm absolutely in love with, I have to write her into everything from now on) and Sayid because there aren't enough of those out there. Or any, actually.

Anyways, the usual, I don't own anything but Elliot, yada yada yada. Enjoy, and reviews are really appreciated!

P.S. There are a few plot twists given away in the PREVIEW below, so if you don't want spoilers, don't read that!

Chapter 1:

_So this is hell._

The thought came to me calmly, curiously, floating in like a gentle mist. I regarded the scene around me almost passionlessly, roaming eyes taking in the trees and branches twisting around my feet.

Interesting. I expected more fire and brimstone, if anything.

I stepped forward and filtered screams made their way to my ears. My brow furrowed in confusion, but I just kept walking forward as the screams got louder. Screams made sense. Screams were associated with hell, weren't they?

"Help!" someone shouted, and my frown grew deeper as I stopped and stared at the scene in front of me.

Debris littered the sandy floor of what appeared to be a beach. A great engine sputtered to a stop near the clear blue water. People were everywhere, some lying eyes closed on the ground, some injured and clearly near death. Others were running in a controlled chaos, trying to do what they could. One woman was screaming at the top of her lungs while standing on a piece of bent metal, and I winced, fighting off the irritation she provoked in me.

"Dude, are you okay? Your arm is dripping blood!" a large man with curly hair and a kind face called to me. I pursed my lips in confusion as I took in him and his pregnant blonde companion before turning my gaze to my right arm, where I could now feel a slight sting.

My eyes widened in surprise as I inspected my arm critically.

"Dude?" the man repeated, sounding worried.

"It's nothing," I shrugged at him, eyes cool once again.

He gave me an odd look. "You're taking this plane crash awful well."

"Plane crash? Is that what happened?" I raised my eyebrows, thinking back.

_Ava._

My eyes searched for her, desperate and quick even if my body was still and calm. And...there. There she was, sitting next to two men, one with coffee light skin and chin length curly black hair, the other handsome with floppy brown hair. He had his arm around her, while the darker one stood above them, frowning down at Ava.

I walked briskly over to where they stood, walking around to face Ava with trepidation. Why else would the men be with her if she wasn't hurt in some way?

The moment her eyes alighted on me, she broke out into a relieved smile that covered her whole face.

"Elliot!" her voice shook, and the two men drew their eyes up to me, just noticing my arrival. I was about to open my mouth when her smile fell and her eyes alighted on my arm in horror. "Oh, no! You're hurt."

My brow furrowed and I glanced down at my arm again, still bleeding slightly. "What? No, I'm fine. Are you alright?" My british accent stood out in stark contrast to her American one. People probably wouldn't think we were riding together in the first place.

"Yeah, yeah, just...I didn't see you," she gasped out in an almost hysterical laugh. "I thought you were dead or something."

I raised one eyebrow doubtfully and took her in. Just a few scratches and bruises here and there, nothing serious, at least on the outside. On the inside she seemed like she was verging on hysteria.

"Right," I dragged the word out slowly, assessing her face carefully.

"Are you alright now?" the handsome one asked from her side, looking her worriedly up and down.

"Yeah, fine, thanks for your help," she smiled sheepishly at the two, and I glanced over to meet the darker one's eyes, which were staring directly into mine, piercing my face like he was trying to look right through me.

I held his stare for a few moments before turning my gaze back to Ava.

The handsome one stood, nodded and smiled at me, one I didn't return. "Glad you two are okay. I'm gonna go help out some more."

Ava nodded her thanks and when I looked towards the other man again, he was already gone.

I sat next to her in the sand. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Ava whispered, voice broken. "We were on the plane and then it just...it just pulled apart. It was horrible."

I was silent for a few beats. "So did someone contact a rescue team or...?"

"I don't know. It's just all been such a rush. People are hurt and dead and," she gulped a big breath of air, breaking off.

I hesitated. A normal person would probably put an arm around her. "It'll be alright, Ava," I said instead, leaning into her reassuringly. "We'll all be out of here in days, I promise."

She looked over at me, wide eyed, trusting. "You think?"

"Of course. No one at the airline is that incompetent that they won't realize what a liability this is," I rolled my eyes, putting my hands back in the sand, and watching the world before us go up in flames.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys! I had a sudden burst of inspiration and pumped out chapter 2 pretty quickly, so here it is. Thank you so much for the reviews! Also I just wanted to clarify that Elliot is a girl, not a guy. Sorry for the confusion :)**

**Anyway, this chapter's kind of filler, just everyone getting to know each other. There's a little action at the end, but more will be coming, so stick around!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my darling Elliot. Enjoy! **

Chapter 2:

Ava was...upset. I could tell. Tugging at her hair, crying herself to sleep the first night upset. I didn't cry, although many did. I had decided long ago that crying didn't help much, and wasn't worth the effort.

She was even more upset when the transmitter didn't work. That irritated me a little. I had made a promise that we would go home soon, and I didn't like to break my promises. I found that people so often did. She feigned calmness, let me talk her into sitting by the ocean and letting the waves roll up over our uncovered, short clad legs. I was reading a water logged paperback I had kept with me in my bag, which had ended up on the beach somehow. _The Catcher in the Rye_. One of my childhood favorites.

That was when the fighting began.

Two men, one the dark skinned one from yesterday and the other blonde and holding a deep Southern drawl, exchanged punches and blew up sand not too far away from us. A crowd had gathered, and Ava turned to watch from where we were seated. I kept reading. I wasn't interested much in whatever small time brawl they were fighting out. Better to keep out of it.

I heard shouting, finally looked back to see that the doctor, Jack, who had taken up a leadership role break them up. Something about the dark skinned man crashing the plane. How original.

I hadn't interacted with them much and wasn't planning on it until Ava, who had gotten up to introduce herself to a few of the other passengers, called me over.

"Elliot! They need help fixing the transmitter and I told them you could help," Ava panted, running over to my spot farther back from the cooling ocean.

I sighed, still staring at my book. "Really, Ava? What can I possibly do to-"

"Oh, come on, you're a genius with these things. We need the transmitter to work so we can get home. Please?" she pleaded, wide eyed.

I twisted my mouth to the side. "Fine," I replied finally. I had promised, after all.

She led me over to two men, the dark skinned one (of course, he seemed to be cropping up everywhere, didn't he) and the large, curly haired one from yesterday. They sat on two pieces of driftwood, weathered with salt water, the dark one fiddling with the transmitter.

"Hi! This is my friend, the one that's good with technology," Ava bounced back on her heels, smiling in a friendly fashion at the men. I just squinted at the transmitter, wondering what in the hell they needed my help with if the dark man was toying with it already.

"We don't need-" he started, but the curly haired one interrupted him.

"Yeah, totally, we could use all the help we can get. Have a seat," he smiled at me kindly.

I ground my teeth together. Friendly. I hated to get too friendly. It's not like I'd be seeing him again after a few days anyway.

I sat next to Ava across from the two men, opened up my book again. I had only fifty pages left. There wasn't much else to do on this silly island but read.

"Oh, _Catcher in the Rye_, I hated that when I was in school," his grin stretched wider. "I'm Hurley, by the way. Sorry, I forgot what Ava said your name was."

"Elliot," I drawled at the same time as Ava, not looking up from my book.

"Cool. How old are you guys, anyway? Shouldn't you be in school?" Hurley furrowed his brow.

"I'm eighteen. Elle's seventeen, the baby," she grinned at me, reaching over to ruffle my long brown hair.

I batted her hand away, looking over with an irritated expression. "Stop that."

"And we were in Australia for business. Well, Elliot was, that's what she would say. I had fun on the beaches," she continued, laughing at my disgruntled expression.

"Business? What kind of a business does a seventeen year old have in Australia?" the dark man piped in, and my eyes swung over to take him in. He was still fiddling with the transmitter.

"None of _your_ business," I shot at him.

This is why I didn't like to be social. Social involved prying, and if there was one thing I hated (although there were many), it was prying.

There was an awkward pause before Hurley spoke up again. The other man stayed quiet this time, although I swear I saw him roll his eyes.

"This is Sayid, by the way," Hurley said, nodding to the other man. "He's a genius at this stuff, apparently."

"Not genius enough," Sayid muttered frustratedly. "I'm having trouble getting it to be able to take in a signal."

"Oo, Elliot can do that!" Ava piped up excitedly, happy that I was being put in use.

I dog eared the page I was on and put down my book, reaching for the transmitter. My fingers brushed Sayid's, and I abruptly pulled away, transmitter firmly in hand.

I looked down at it, holding out a hand. "Do you have a screwdriver?"

The piece was put in my outstretched member, and I closed my fingers around the warm plastic, reaching down to fiddle with the jumble of wires.

A line popped up on the screen, but no bars. "There. No service," I handed back the transmitter and screwdriver to Sayid, picking up my book again.

"Dude. How'd you do that?" Hurley stared wide eyed at me.

"Elliot specializes in...abnormal things done to electronics," Ava laughed, while Hurley stared at her, confused.

I smiled down at my book and let out a short laugh, not responding. So that's what she called my sometimes illegal proclivities. Interesting definition.

"We need a signal. Maybe if we go higher..." Sayid trailed off, and I final looked up, following his gaze up to the top of the mountain that outfitted the middle of the island.

"Worth a try," I murmured, standing and brushing sand off the back of my shorts.

"Awesome. Let's go," Ava popped up.

"We need to gather more people. I'll find Jack," Sayid intoned without looking at me.

We ended up without Jack but with Sayid, the handsome man who had helped Ava yesterday named Boon (Ava kept looking at him, I think she had a bit of a crush to be honest), his stepsister Shannon who had started annoying the hell out of me the first time she opened her mouth, the man Sayid had been fighting with who called himself Sawyer, and a quaint Aussie named Charlie.

The only reason I wanted to go was because of my promise to Ava, and my investment in being back home. I couldn't be stuck here for more than a few days.

The walk up the mountain was rough. Climbing roots, scaling vines and rocks. It was a good thing I was in fairly decent shape, or I would have been out of breath within seconds. By the time we were on firm ground, the fighting between Sayid and Sawyer had increased, culminating in Sayid turning to yell at the scruffy blonde.

That's when we heard the growl.

Shannon started screaming.

"It's coming towards us! We need to go!" Kate yelled out past the rustling of whatever beast was barreling forward.

"Elliot?" Ava half whimpered, half gasped.

"Come on," I grabbed her arm and roughly pulled her forward.

"Sawyer!" Kate yelled, turning to look back at him. He stood, feet planted firmly on the ground, ready for whatever was coming.

"Let him go!" Sayid grabbed Kate, hauling her forward.

The gun emerged, and my eyes narrowed as he pointed it at the emerging white mass.

One. Two. Threefourfivesixseveneightnine. The shots rang out, deafening.

It collapsed.

In front of us lay a polar bear, blood matting it's white fur.

I paled, hands clutching into fists. A polar bear. A mysterious island. I knew exactly where we were.

My father was going to like this.


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow, I'm updating abnormally quickly. I guess I just am having a lot of love for this story :) Also this chapter has one of my all time favorite characters so there's that. This week's a school week though, so don't expect a chapter a day. I'm going to try to write one or two more before President's Day Weekend because I'm going on vacation, so yay for some late nights!**

**Also didn't mention this before although it seems a bit obvious now, but this is going to be a little bit of a slow burn between Sayid and Elliot, who aren't liking each other so much at first. It will be worth it in the end though, I promise. Anyways, here it is! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my darling Elliot (and Ava). **

Chapter 3:

A memorial. They wanted to burn up the bodies, watch their own worlds go up in flames. Small deaths, every one of them.

I was never one to dwell on death, personally.

I had many other things to do. I stood in the crowd because Ava asked it of me, but I felt nothing for those whose names the pregnant girl, Claire, read off the list of passengers. What mattered to me was that I was alive, and Ava was alive, and that was that. There weren't many things I cared about in this world, but Ava was one of them, and I would die before I let her get hurt.

I slipped out the next morning under the cover of breaking dawn. Sunlight splattered speckled pink and yellow in the shade of the jungle, and I hiked my backpack higher up on my shoulders. I had left a note for Ava that I was exploring. Not a lie, really. It was an exploration, but I was not going in blind.

I was going in with the intention of finding _them_.

It only took six hours of hiking for them to find me.

The sun had fully risen in the sky, and it beat down on my head mercilessly. I had dunked my head in the salty ocean, but what I really craved was a nice shower to wipe all the grime of the past few days off of me. Judging from where I had finally figured out we were, I wasn't going to get that anytime soon.

I had finally found a flat path, and was taking a small break, swigging down water from my water bottle, when I heard the rustle. I capped the bottle calmly, stowed it in my backpack. Took out my knife.

They came at me suddenly, swiftly through the trees. I was slow because of the heat and there were many of them. I never stood a chance. One, maybe. Two, a possibility. Five, never.

I kicked out at the first one, slashing with my knife and, judging by their cry and the slip of their hands, struck them. I turned, fist swinging around to catch another one in the jaw. They fell back with a muttered oath, and just as I was about to advance with a kick to their stomach, two pairs of hands grabbed my knife and restrained my beating, squirming body.

I was breathing heavier than usual, but a smile still arched predatorily across my face as I latched my gaze on the man in front of me.

"Benjamin Linus. I would say nice to met you, but under the circumstances..." I trailed off, shrugging as much as I could restrained.

"Elliot Widmore. Nice to finally put a voice to the name," he replied back, peering at me over the edge of his wire rimmed glasses.

**xxx**

It turned out a shower was in my future after all. They showed me to their compound of cookie cutter yellow houses and put me in a bathroom with a towel, fresh clothes, and an order to "get cleaned up". I heard the click of a lock, but still. What's that saying about never looking a gift horse in the mouth?

I emerged with peppermint smelling hair and feeling cleaner than I had in a week. I skipped the jeans they gave me for my shorts, but gladly took the black tank top and fresh bra and underwear. It was a nice change.

The man standing outside the door led me to a homey looking living room where Ben Linus sat with another man. His deep brown eyes set in an ageless face drilled into my head as I took a seat across from them.

I crossed my legs and leaned back, tapping my hand against the wood of the armrest. I could wait for them to speak first. They were the ones who accosted me, after all.

"It seems your father finally found what he was looking for, hmm?" Ben finally spoke up.

I laughed. "Oh, absolutely not. Don't you think the swat teams would have arrived by now if he knew exactly where I was?"

Ben and the other man glanced at each other, seeming to confer some secret I wasn't allowed to be in on before turning their gazes back to latch on me.

"So it was a total accident that you landed here," the dark haired man stated, squinting slightly at me.

"Accident? The island does what it wants. Or at least, that's what my father used to tell me you said, Richard," I titled my head at him in acknowledgment. "So no, I wouldn't really call it an accident, would you?"

"No, I wouldn't," Richard replied, lips thinning. "Are you going to collect knowledge of the island to bring home to your father?"

"I don't really do things unless I'm under strict orders to. And right now, I'm not under orders to do anything concerning to the island. So I guess you don't have to worry. Your secret's safe with me," I raised my hands palm open in action of my good intentions.

"We can't let you go home and tell your father about the island," Ben cut in, staring intently at me.

Ah. They meant to keep me or kill me.

I leaned forward, eyes narrowing as they fixed firmly on Ben's. "Listen. I have a friend with me. It is _very_ important I get her home safe and sound. And she won't be leaving without me. So I don't really have the _choice_ of staying," I almost growled. I hated being threatened.

"I think we can make a deal. You give information to your father if and when you get off the island, and your friend isn't very alive anymore," Ben said simply.

I leaned back, satisfied. Off island, if the situation proved dire, I could always protect Ava. "Deal."

"Now, it's getting dark. Do you want to risk going back to the beach through the jungle, or would you like to rest here for the night?" Ben clapped his hands together, standing.

I stood as well, smiling. "Tempting offer. I think I'll not risk meeting him at the moment. Staying here sounds good."

Ben gestured to the man who had escorted me into the living room. "Show her to a room. Lock her in. I don't want her getting out to collect any information she might think she'll find."

The man nodded, waved his hand at me. "Yes, sir. Come on."

I followed the man to a simple but clean and comfy looking bedroom. He locked the door behind him on his way out, and I found a pair of pajamas waiting for me on the bed. I slipped into them and collapsed into the bed after checking that the windows were locked. I was asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

**xxx**

I awoke to the sound of knocking, and opened the door to find the man from the night before telling me that it was morning and time for me to leave. He didn't seem threatening about it, but firm enough that I was to brush my teeth with the god given toothbrush and toothpaste that lay in the bathroom, get dressed, and get out. I guess they didn't want a rescue party to come looking for me. Not that I thought I warranted much of a search party other than Ava and anyone who felt bad enough to help a young girl out.

When I finally arrived in the living room ready to leave, Ben stood, my backpack in his hand.

"I'm very sorry about this. But we can't have you knowing where, exactly, we are," he nodded at the man behind me, and I shrugged, tilting my head up for what I assumed was the same blindfold they had put on me the afternoon before.

Instead I felt a swift, sharp pain in my head, and everything fell black.

**xxx**

I awoke with a swift gasp, upper body jerking up. My hands clutched onto the blanket covering the lower half of my body, and I slowly look around and realize I'm in the makeshift medical tent, back on the beach. A persistent throbbing in my head reminds me what happened in the past few hours.

_That fucking bastard_. He had me knocked out so I wouldn't know the place of their community? What had been wrong with the blindfold?

I scrambled out of the tent, pushing back my long hair from my face and scowling. Stupid, stupid man. He would pay for that.

"Oh, Elliot, you're awake," Jack looked over and spotted my steaming form, scrambling up from the sand.

Sayid, Kate and Charlie looked over from their conversation beside the tent.

"You're friend Ava was looking for you," Charlie squinted at me, nodding towards the other end of the beach.

"Yeah, thanks," I turned to head towards her but Jack stopped me with a hand to my arm.

I immediately pulled away but turned back to face him with a sigh, crossing my arms.

"Sorry, I don't think we've officially met, but I'm Jack. Your friend Ava said you left her a note that you'd gone exploring but she got worried that you'd been gone for so long, so Locke said he'd keep an eye out. He found you lying unconscious at the edge of the jungle this morning. Do you know what happened?" Jack stared down at me, eyes wide and innocently kind.

I pursed my lips. "No, no idea, sorry. My head hurts but I can't remember anything since the memorial," I lied easily, if a little too quickly.

"Really," Sayid's accent tinged voice sounded from a few feet away, unbelieving.

I looked over to him, raised an eyebrow. "Really. Can I go now? Ava's probably worried."

"Of course. Just be sure to tell me if you remember anything, or if something seems off. I want to make sure you don't have a concussion," Jack smiled.

I nodded my thanks and made my way, this time unobstructed, to Ava. She gasped when she saw me, dropped the book in her hand and ran over to throw her arms around me.

I let her hug me for a few moments before gently pulling away. "I'm sorry. I wrote you a note."

"I know, but you were gone for more than a day! I was worried, Elle's," she breathed out, mock punching my arm in anger.

"Come on, Ava, you know I can handle myself," I reminded her, but a smile pulled my lips up. It was...nice, to be worried about, a little.

"I know, I know. I was being silly, but you can't do stuff like that, just run off without telling anyone where you're going!" she shot back, grey eyes widening.

"Sorry, darling. I'll inform you on my every single move from here on out," I let the grin I was holding back out, ran a hand through my hair. I needed to find a ponytail holder, dammit.

She sighed and shook her head in resignation. "I'm never going to know where you went, am I?"

"Nope. Now where's that notebook you had hiding around? I need to make a map."


	4. Chapter 4

**Another chapter! So happy with the reviews. The thought that people are reading this keeps me going!**

**May not be able to update for a while, but hopefully we'll have a snow day thursday, so I'll be sure to work on this if we do :) **

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Elliot (and Ava) **

Chapter 4:

We had been on the island for almost two weeks. I wanted off.

There was a plan to triangulate the receivers and pick up where the signal that had been broadcasting for sixteen years was coming from. Made up by Sayid, of course, technology extraordinaire. I volunteered to go with them because I was bored and wanted to make sure everything went as planned. I was getting fidgety with nothing to do and so much work back home.

There was also the fact that I didn't want my father interrogating me where I had been, although he had probably figured it out by now. He was a smart man, my father, blood of my blood.

Boone, Ava (she liked to be included, and she had quite a crush on the aforementioned Boone), Kate, Sayid and I made plans to send off fireworks at exactly five if each of us was in place with our receivers, signaling Sayid to turn on the transmitter. Boone and Ava would stay on the beach, while Kate, Sayid and I would walk up through the jungle, eventually splitting up.

I was comfortable to walk in silence, but Kate, nice girl that she was, tried a few times to engage me in the conversation. I think I made her feel slightly awkward, to be honest, so it felt a little nicer to me that she was trying so hard.

"So, Elliot, you're seventeen? What grade would that be back in England?" she started off.

"I was going into twelfth in Los Angeles," I replied curtly.

"Senior year. I remember that. Party it up before you leave for college, right?" she smiled invitingly.

"Not really much of a partier," I murmured, tapping my fingers against the strap of my backpack.

She stopped really trying after that.

She and Sayid rambled on about inconsequential things for the next half hour, until we heard a rustle in the leaves behind us. Kate froze, half turning in fear and curiosity. I tensed, ready for anything.

Instead of the boar I think we all expected, Sawyer crashed into the small clearing we stood in, grinning rakishly.

"I've come to help out," he said, tilting his head and letting some of his blonde locks fall back from his eyes.

"We don't need help," Sayid told him tersely. Those two did not like each other, not even a little bit.

"Well, you've got it. Why don't I go with freckles here and you and Brit here go on your separate way, since you two are the tech geniuses of the group. Or at least, this one says she is, isn't that right, cupcake?" he smiled condescendingly at me.

_Cupcake?_ What a _complete and utter_ arse.

I narrowed my eyes at him, fighting off the urge to punch that silly little smirk right off of his face.

"That doesn't seem like a good-" Sayid started, but Kate cut him off.

"Fine. Let's just get to it. There's not that much time and we have a lot of walking to do," she said, lips tightening as she avoided looking at Sawyer.

"Great," he smiled and batted his eyelashes. "Let's get started, freckles. Long walk ahead of us and all."

He started to the right, and Kate followed halfheartedly after him. I was left alone with Sayid.

"Let's go," Sayid started walking without looking at me, and I hurried to catch up. Our walk was silent, and when we finally reached the place we were supposed to put our receiver Sayid's watch said we still had an hour to five. He set up the bottle rocket while I took a seat in the grass and pulled out my notebook, opening it and marking the path we had taken to get here.

"What are you doing?" Sayid's voice filtered into my concentration a few moments later. I glanced up to see him sitting across from me, fingers drumming in the grass.

"Making a map," I looked back at the notebook, marking the area where the Others, as many called them, had blindfolded me a few days before.

"You think we will be here long enough to need a map?" he asked, slightly disgruntled at the thought.

I paused before answering. "I think it's a high possibility. Two weeks and no one has found us. That doesn't make for a good situation in my book."

He was silent for a few beats. "You lied about not knowing what happened to you before Locke found you in the jungle the other day."

I sighed and put down my pencil, closing the notebook and placing it beside me. Clasping my hands together beneath my chin, I fixed my gaze fully on him, blue on deep brown.

"Why would I possibly lie about such a thing?" I blinked up at him calmly.

He shrugged. "I have no idea. But you did. I know a liar when I see one, and you seem very adept at it."

I raised an eyebrow and let out a short bark of laughter. "Is that supposed to insult me?"

"It doesn't?" he countered.

"I've found that often, liars can spot other liars. So what does that say about you?" I shot back, smiling sharply.

I did not like this man. I did not like the way he looked at me with suspicion prominent in his eyes, and I did not like how he was not so easily fooled by my lie.

He stared at me for a few moments, eyes boring into my skull. I held his gaze.

"That says that you are much smarter than you let on," he finally replied.

I laughed out right now. "Should I be offended? You didn't think I was intelligent?"

He studied me. "How intelligent am I supposed to think a seventeen year old is? Aren't your only thoughts supposed to be suntanning and going to parties?"

I leaned forward slightly. "I think that it should be clear by now I'm not a normal seventeen year old."

"But you're friends with one," he reminded me.

I didn't reply to that one. I did not want to talk about Ava with him. I didn't want to let him know that the reason I became friends with her in the first place was because, for the first time in a long time, she made me feel like a normal teenage girl. That is why I would protect her with my life. She was the only real friend I had, the only tether that held me to a semi-normal life.

We were silent for a few minutes before Sayid looked down at his watch, standing abruptly.

"It's time," he said, moving to light the bottle rocket. He stepped back to stand by me as it fizzled and spit, finally going off in an explosion of black and red sparks high up in the darkening sky.

We waited until we saw the next one go off before getting the transmitter ready, Sayid laughing in delight when he saw the last one explode. He turned on the transmitter, which blared with a signal.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes," he chanted, holding up the transmitter.

Everything went black.

xxx

"What happened?" Jack asked, cleaning up the wound on Sayid's head. I sat, head in palm, gritting my teeth against the onslaught of a vicious headache.

"I don't know. One moment we had a signal, and the next we woke up and it was gone, transmitter broken," Sayid huffed out in frustration.

"Elliot?" Jack looked over to me, taking my pained expression in concernedly.

I waved a hand towards Sayid and closed my eyes against the throbbing. "Yes, what he said. Why is everyone so _bloody _loud?" I growled, eyes snapping open to glare at the people milling about the Adam and Eve cave Jack had found, and apparently been trapped in while we were gone.

Jack laughed. "It seems you're alright after all. Why don't you go tell Boone and Ava what happened?"

I trudged back to the beach, grumbling about my headache the whole time. Who could it have been that hit us? Who didn't want us getting home?  
"It didn't work," I snarled when Ava ran up to me, and she shrank back against the onslaught of my anger.

"Sorry," she bit her lip, rocking back on her heels. "Are you okay?"

"Someone hit us over the head. I have the worst fucking headache and I'm about to murder the person who did this," I ground my teeth together and plopped down in the sand, crossing my arms and scowling out at the sea.

"Knowing you, you mean that literally," she muttered under her breath as she sat down next to me. "Have you worked more on the map?"

"Yes," I told her curtly, not bothering to pull it out.

"Are you going to explore some more? Can I come with?" her good mood came back and she stared at me, wide eyed and eager.

"I'll go out tomorrow morning. Alone. Going to be gone for a while, maybe. Don't get worried unless I'm missing for more than two days. I'll gather supplies before nightfall and set out at sunrise," I sighed, running a hand through my hair and letting my head rest in my hand, scrunching my fingers against my cooling skin.

Ava was silent for a few moments. "Fine," she finally said curtly, getting up and moving to where we had been sleeping, beneath the shade of one of the wings. Or, she had been sleeping there. I was too twitchy about the damned thing falling over.

I felt a flash of guilt run through me. I hadn't meant to be so curt with her, but she couldn't know what I was really doing, other than exploring. Looking for more signs about _them_.

So I would leave in the morning, without her, and hope for her forgiveness. She had forgiven a lot more.

xxx

I set out the next morning the opposite way down the shoreline. I walked until I finally got tired enough to take a break and pull out the faded copy of _Watership Down _I had nicked from Sawyer. I had a small snack before going on my way again, resting for the night beneath the cover of a thin blanket. I woke early and kept walking, making my way closer to the edge of the jungle.

I almost tripped over the wire. I stumbled and went back to look what I could possibly had fallen on in the pristine white sand. A long black wire lay in the sand, and I grabbed it, following it up to the edge of the jungle. I paused before brushing through the trees and into the unknown.


	5. Chapter 5

**It's finally here! Chapter 5, yay! Sorry it's so short and that I haven't been updating as quickly, but I've been so crazy busy it's ridiculous (school sucks). **

**Anyways, hope you guys enjoy some more Elliot and Sayid time!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my lovely Elliot. **

Chapter 5:

The unknown turned out not to be so great after all.

The unknown could have been another word for a jungle full of traps. Traps that I had to slowly and carefully step around.

Just as I thought I was in the clear, my foot caught in the edged teeth of a trap. White hot pain seared across my vision, and my world became shaky, blurred edge vision. It hurts, sharp and blinding. A pained whimper escapes past clenched teeth, and I fall to my knees, ankle twisting awkwardly to not aggravate the skin caught in the trap. I can see blood, red, sticky and hot, seeping from the edges of the trap.

Just as I think the pain can't get any worse, I hear a rustle, whip my head around, and everything goes black.

xxx

I awake to the stale air of the earth and chains at my hands. I can still feel shooting pain in my ankle, and as my head clears, I realize that I am completely trapped to a bed, locked in tight.

I gasp out a breath, pulling at the chains until my wrists are raw. Tears stream from my eyes as panic takes over, enveloping my brain with the pumping, pulsing thought of _'get out, have to get out, get out'_.

"If you do not struggle so much, it will not hurt so much," a woman's voice, tinged with a heavy french accent, filters through my panic.

I gasp in gulps of breath and keep pulling, eyes searching blindly for the source of the voice. A woman, dirty and wild, comes into view standing by the foot of the bed I'm tied to.

"Please. S'il vous plaît, please," I tried her native language, hoping that maybe she will find a human instinct deep inside of her and unchain me.

"Do you know where my Alex is? Do you?" she hissed, striding to the side of my bed and gazing down, eyes untamed.

"No! Please, please, I was on a plane crash, just let me out, please," I begged, pulling harder.

"Fine," she said, backing up.

Relief spilled through me. She was going to get the keys. I was going to be okay.

Instead, pain seared through my whole body again, and, again, everything went black.

xxx

When I woke up again, I had gained more control over my reaction to the chains. I kept my eyes snapped closed, teeth firmly ground together. My brain cleared some, and I could hear a familiar voice in the background, accent mixing with the french woman's.

_Sayid. She caught him too_.

The french woman was murmuring a reply to whatever he had just said when she stopped, and a heavy silence fell across the room-or whatever it was we were trapped in-for a few moments.

"Ah. So she finally awakens. Est-ce que vous veulent parler maintenant, petite fille? _Do you want to talk now, little girl?" _I heard her footsteps as she came to the edge of my bed.

My eyes snapped open and I glared at her. She stared back, unhinged.

"Let. Me. Out," I gritted past my clenched teeth, hands flexing in the chains.

I would not let the panic take over again. I had to be strong, even as it threatened to throw me into another attack.

Just as she was about to respond, a creaking noise sounded from up above, followed by the heavy rustling of many trees being disturbed. The woman froze, looking up to what I assumed was ground level and then rushing to grab a gun. I tensed, but she just pulled down a door in the ceiling and ran up a few short stairs, letting the bamboo slam down behind her.

I let out a hard breath and closed my eyes. "Any chance you can get me out of here?" I shot towards Sayid.

There was a pause before I heard footsteps, and I let my eyes flutter open to take in his hovering, dark form. He didn't meet my eyes and went right to work picking the lock to my chains. His skin kept brushing mine, and I resisted the urge to pull away, not that I could. I twitched every time his hand met my raw wrists.

He finally got me free, and I shot up, letting my feet plant down hard on the dirt floor. My breathing was finally getting back to normal, even as I rubbed my wrists, red and aching.

"We need to go," he turned, perusing the selection of guns the french woman kept.

I pushed off the bed before making a small noise and falling back down. I bit my lip and slipped out of my sneaker and sock, eyes widening to find my ankle too covered with blood to see anything of importance.

Sayid turned, gun in hand. "What's-oh. What happened? Are you alright?" he walked over, kneeling by the bed and grabbing my ankle.

My breath hissed out from between my teeth, both at the pain and his hands on me. I did not like being touched without warning, and he seemed apt to do it.

"My foot was caught in one of her traps," I told him, trying not to let tears escape my eyes at the intense pain. I refused to cry. I would survive this. I had survived much worse.

"Can you walk?" he asked, looking up to meet my eyes. His seemed oddly sympathetic.

"I'll be fine. Let's just go before she gets back," I rocked forward again, and this time stood while masking my pain, face stony.

He nodded and moved to open the bamboo door, climbing out. I followed, limping heavily once we reached the muddy ground.

The noise grew louder as we headed to what I assumed to be the beach. I was a bit too disoriented to find my way, and trusted Sayid with the directions enough, even if I didn't trust him with anything else. He was a smart man, I had to admit it.

I swallowed hard as I stumbled, but didn't let out a sound, even as the leaves crackled around us. The french woman emerged at a sprint from the oncoming trees. She stopped short at the sight of us, and the guns were pointed and cocked in seconds.

"Do not do this," she muttered on a growl, glaring at us.

"Let us go. I'll shoot," Sayid murmured back.

"I don't doubt it," she breathed out, eyes snapping between us. "Fine. Leave. Just know that if you tell _them_ where I am, I'll kill you."

Sayid nodded, and I swallowed hard. We continued on, my foot failing even more as we trudged towards the beach.

It happened unexpectedly, suddenly.

The island found us.

And what I saw at its core was not a pretty thing.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi again! Finally got some more writing done. Thank goodness for the weekend, right? **

**Anyways, some people expressed interest in where this is going. I am rewriting some scenes and sticking mostly to the plot of the show, although my real plans lie after they get off the island. So that's why I'm skipping forward a little through the episodes. I have a lot planned for those few years that they're back in the 'real world' :) **

**So here it is, chapter 6! Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Elliot and Ava **

Chapter 6:

_I crawl across the floor, ripped jeans sliding across the dirty cement. I had to be quiet. I wouldn't want him to hear me. If he found me now, I would be punished. My back still stung from last time. _

_I am two feet from the door, one. I arrive at the faded slab of wood, reach up to turn the knob ever so slowly with hands coated black with dust. It creaks as I push it open, and I freeze, listening for the sound of heavy footsteps. Instead I hear only the chirp of the crickets and the scurry of mice that inhabit this hell with me. _

_I swallow hard past the fear and the pain in my wrists. They throb and ooze blood from my escape, ropes hanging empty by the radiator. I open the door a little more and slip through, start climbing the stairs. I am almost there, reaching for the door that leads to my freedom. I can imagine sunlight on my face and the laughter of my sister in my ears. I can imagine the feel of wet grass beneath the soles of my feet and the endlessly blue sky. God, I miss the sun and the sky. I haven't seen them in weeks. _

_Just as I am about to open the door, I hear him. _

_"Come out, little girl. Come out, come out, wherever you are," he whispers, voice wet and dirty. I hate his voice. It makes me think of the basement I've been kept in, tied and alone in the dark, for the past few weeks. _

_I huddle in the dark corner behind the door. I hear his footsteps clomp around the cement, pause when they see the door leading to the stairs partially open. _

_He starts up the stairs. _

_"Elliot," I hear someone whisper my name in the shadows. "Elliot. Elliot." _

"Elliot. Wake up."

I gasp, surge forward. Her arm is there to steady me almost immediately, and I sink into the familiarity of her shoulder, head heavy. The tears come, unbidden. My wrists throb against the blanket that's crumpled by my feet, reminding me of the dream, of the memory. Of my fear of the dark and being tied up. They remind me that I'm too scared to close my goddamn eyes because of what I might see behind them.

"Sorry," I whisper into her shirt, sniffling and composing myself before pulling back.

"It's okay," Ava whispers back, eyes showing only concern. I feel that pang of guilt again, the pang that reminds me that I don't deserve her friendship or her worry. "The dream, again?"

"Yes," I reply, looking away towards the ocean. The frothy waves pull at the sand, and the moon reflects back on the water, reminding me that I am on the island and not caught in that same dark room I haven't dreamt of in months.

"I'm sorry," she says this time, handing me a sweatshirt and, when I don't take it, wrapping it around my shoulders.

My stand in mother, Ava is. Caring and sweet and kinder than she can ever imagine to me.

"Not your fault. Not anyone's fault, really," I sigh and pull the sweatshirt close, burying my nose in it's familiar scent. I don't want to go back to sleep.

"Do you want to try to sleep again?" Ava asks as if she can read my mind. "I'll be right here, if you need me."

"No," I rub my eyes, run a hand through my long hair. "But you go back to sleep. I think I'll just go find a quiet place to read."

"Alright," she whispers, eyes searching my face and finding nothing there. I am back to myself, cold and distant. The nightmare is a distant memory.

Only it's not. It never is.

She moves back to her sleeping area and lies down, closes her eyes. She's drifted off in seconds. I feel bad for waking her with what I assume was my tossing and turning, if my blanket is any indication.

I sigh again and ruffle through my things to grab my book, standing and walking towards the trees. I go a few feet in and turn right, into the small clearing I had found a few days before. It had quickly become my favorite reading spot. I sat by a tree and turned on the flashlight I had brought with me, shining it on the dark pages.

Instead of reading, my thoughts drifted back to the nightmare and the day before.

I guessed it had been being tied up like I had at the french woman's home, Rousseau, Sayid had said her name was. I hated being tied up, even now, years later. That must have been what spurred on the memory.

I clenched my jaw and tried to focus on the words, which blurred in front of my eyes. _Forget it_, I told myself sternly. _The only thing to do about it is forget it. You're fine now, aren't you? It made you stronger, in the end. Stronger's better. Weakness kills._

His footsteps were hidden by the soft dirt, and I guess that's why I didn't hear him at first. Not until he cleared his throat, and then my head shot up, body tense and ready for a fight. I was on edge already.

"Oh. Hello," I blinked steadily up at Sayid, moving to stand. "Can you see the light from the beach? I didn't think-"

"No," he cut me off, looking around uncomfortably. "I could not sleep and went for a walk. I'm guessing you did the same."

I shrugged, sank back down and looked at my book. "I don't sleep much anyway."

He was silent for a few moments. "When we ran into the monster. Did you hear it say anything?"

I put down my book slowly, let my eyes meet his. "What kind of thing?"

_Things like whispers? Whispers that asked if you were truly ready for what was ahead, if you were ready to answer his questions? If you were ready to disappoint him, again?_

"Whispers," he replied bluntly.

"Yes. I heard the whispers," I sucked my lower lip in, eyes glancing towards the tree at the back of his dark form. "Why do you ask?"

"Don't you think it's odd? This thought of smoke monsters and the whispers and a woman living on the island? And that no one has found us yet?" he questioned, narrowing his eyes down at me.

My mouth quirked up to the side. "You don't believe in monsters?"

"Not of the smoke kind. The human kind, I believe in only too much," he said softly in reply.

I paused, furrowed my brow as I took him in. "Well, I wouldn't say I believed in them before. Now we don't have much of a choice to, do we?"

"I guess not," he let the words sink in, staring contemplatively at the ground. "I'll let you continue your book. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," I looked back down and turned a page, although I wasn't reading any of the words. I didn't look back up again until I was sure he was gone.

**xxx**

The next few weeks passed without much incident, other than the woman who had apparently disappeared when I was gone exploring, Claire, showing up again with claims that a man had experimented on her. I didn't doubt it, either. I'm sure the natives were aching for new blood they could raise as their own.

And Sayid's new girlfriend's brother dying. There was that, too.

I wasn't much to dwell on the dead, though, as I might have mentioned before. No use. Dead is dead, and we must forgive and forget. Well, maybe not forgive, but forget. The dead must be left behind. They were weak and we were not and that is life. Pessimistic, maybe, but accurate none the less.

And then there was the so called 'hatch'. Locke finally admitted to finding it with the dead Boone and then not telling anyone, making Boone lie too. He even agreed to take Jack there.

Sayid went instead. I asked to come as well. Curiosity got the better of me, and I was, if not anything else, curious.

I was surprised when we finally arrived. It had been mostly uncovered, and was sturdy metal with no handle. Sayid and I inspected it for a way to open it, but found none, and we eventually had to go back empty handed.

We were in for a surprise when we got back.

Rousseau had shown up unannounced. With a warning that the 'Other's' were coming.

She did not receive a very nice reception from me. I stood, knife in hand, as the rest of the people from the beach gathered around her. Ava held on to the sleeve of my shirt, as if to be sure I wouldn't do anything rash.

She told us we needed to either run, hide, or fight. And in a fight, we would lose. That I didn't doubt. Benjamin Linus was a smart man, from what my father had told me.

After she left the beach erupted in chaos. I took the chance to sneak back the hatch and try to pry it open, sliding the handle of my knife and pulling back hard. It didn't budge. I tried searching for a handle even when we didn't find one last time, and then tried breaking it open. Nothing worked.

When I heard the group of fellow survivors voices, I hoped they could come up with something better than me, because I was at a loss. How did someone get in if there was no handle, for god's sake?

Locke, Jack, Kate and Hurley emerged through the trees, arguing. They had brought dynamite, but Hurley was firmly against blowing it up. Something about 'the number's being bad' or some other such nonsense.

We ended up blowing it straight through anyway.

We all covered our ears as the string fizzled and burned, finally blowing a hole straight through the metal. Locke ran over once it was clear it was safe again, and gazed down in bewilderment and wonder at the hole. I stepped over to peer down as well.

A ladder lay against the metal wall, but beneath the ladder it was pitch black. I swallowed hard at the sight.

I wanted to know what was down there just as much as everyone else did, but I hated the thought of braving the dark unknown, so I stepped back. I would let someone else go first. Sacrifice for the masses, right?

In the end, Locke and Jack said they would climb down. I sat by the side waiting for them to reemerge with news, relief spreading through my chest.

The news they brought with them would change everything.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi guys! Sorry again for the long wait. School's been super busy. But spring break's coming up, so lots of writing time, yay! **

**I am soooooo excited to start season 2. Ben is my all time favorite character. Seriously. He rocks. **

**Anyways, some more interaction between Sayid and Elliot here. Lots of fun, suspicious, kind of mean times. Sorry if it feels like I'm rushing through their time on the island by the way-I just have so much stuff planned for when they get off, and I'm so excited to get to it. Lots and lots of excitement going all around here!**

**So here it is, sorry for the long note :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my lovely Elliot. **

Chapter 7:

I met him when I ended up down the hatch and into darkness. My hands shook on the railings, but I held strong. When I finally reached the ground, it was only to see a man holding a gun to Locke's head.

He turned to face me with a wild look in his eyes, and I stared.

"Who are you?" he snarled.

"Elliot Mason," I supplied the lie easily. "Nice to meet the mystery man Locke's been looking after for the past month."

"Were you on the plane?" he flourished the gun at me, pushed Locke away from him.

"Unfortunately, yes. What's going on here?" I raised an eyebrow and let him spin a story for us, ending with showing us a video.

I ignored the video, instead focusing my attention on the man. Shoulder length brown hair, heavy scottish accent...I knew who this man was, of course, had seen pictures of him. Standing with someone I knew, arm around her slim shoulders, smile firmly fixed upon his face. I hadn't been troubled much when he disappeared. I'd never met him.

He finished his story. To be honest, it didn't seem like a big trouble, to press a button every 108 minutes. Not until the shooting started. The old computer broke easily.

He ran. I never got the chance to ask him more questions.

"We need someone to fix it. Elliot, you're good with computers, right?" Locke instructed, scooping up a gun that the man, Desmond, had left behind.

"Of course. Computers built after my birth. I never really learned to fix anything that was made before my time," I gritted my teeth and glanced over at the clock counting down.

"Get Sayid. He may know how to fix it," Locke threw the words at Jack, who left immediately.

Sayid, Hurley and Kate showed up. Sayid started barking out instructions immediately. I stood to the side, arms crossed and back against the cold metal of the walls that had held the blood of my blood's fiancé for so long.

"You can't help?" Sayid almost growled over at me as he inspected the computer.

I shrugged. "You seem to have it covered. I told Locke, I don't really know much about computers before my time."

"Folly of the young," he muttered as he worked, jaw clenched in obvious annoyance with me.

I shrugged again and remained silent. I had enough faith that he would fix it in time.

He did, thankfully. Jack came to press the correct numbers in just in time, too. The world didn't explode, and nothing monumental happened except that suddenly, people had some new jobs.

Overall, the next few days were uneventful. People had the food that was found in the hatch, and were generally happy. Ava secured me some new books. I was content to wait for rescue.

That is, until another death passed in the jungle.

Shannon, Sayid's girlfriend, the girl who was screaming and screeching the day we crashed. Dead as a doorknob.

A few people seemed distraught. Even Ava was sad, although not as sad as she was at Boone's death. Two siblings, right in a row. Seemed odd, if you asked me, but no one did.

The people from the tail were found as well, and turned out to be a bad omen after all. The leader was the one who had shot Shannon.

I didn't attend the funeral. Instead I sequestered myself away in the my little clearing with a notebook and a pencil, and waited it out. I was never much for funerals. Absolutely hated them, really. I didn't want to hear sentimental words spoken by her one time lover. I didn't know the girl. Sociopathic thought? Maybe, but the truth.

That one time lover suddenly burst through the trees, breathing heavily, only to freeze when he spotted me.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, striding up to me with purpose.

I scrambled to a standing position, held my head high. "What are you doing here? Isn't there a funeral you should be attending?" I countered coldly.

I could hear his teeth grind. "It's done. You didn't have the good graces to attend, I see, unlike your friend. It makes me wonder why she's friends with you in the first place."

Funny. I often wondered the same thing.

"I'm not a funeral person," I shot back, raising an eyebrow and crossing my arms. "Why would you care?"

"It's respectful," he hissed, anger coloring his dark skin red. "But you wouldn't know about that, would you. 'Not a funeral person', hmm? And now you have the audacity to mock me? There is something very off with you, and I will not just accept that willingly. I do not want anyone else on the island getting hurt."

I stood in shock for a few moments before gathering my wits enough to respond. "Excuse me? _I_ have the audacity? You were the one who bloody barged in here like a raving lunatic. I was just enjoying my time alone before you decided to come and interrupt me. Bloody fucking idiot," I muttered, pushing past him and scowling at the dirt as I walked away.

I could barely resist growling back at the man, that's how irritated I was. Composure lost, I made sure to fix my expression before stepping onto the beach, where everyone sat in somber moods. I sat down next to Ava, who looked over and smiled at me before going back to her book.

I put my head down on my raised knees and closed my eyes to the sound of the waves crashing against the sand.

xxx

I was taking a shift at the hatch when Henry Gale made his first appearance.

Sayid threw him down with an arrow pierced through his shoulder. My eyes widened as he glanced over at me, hand fisted in Gale's (Ben...Ben's) shirt.

"Jesus," I breathed, eyes flittering from him to Ben.

"Where is Locke?" he asked tensely. I nodded over to the bed, rushing to the side of the shaking man.

He groaned when I lightly touched his shoulder.

"Ben?" I whispered. "Ben? Are you alright?"

My only response was another violent shake.

Jack arrived within a few moments to take the arrow out, thank goodness. I helped tend to the wound as Sayid and Locke murmured in the doorway to the bedroom. Finally we got the arrow out and staunched the blood flowing from his wound.

I went to wash my hands and heard a door slam and a loud exclamation from Jack. I rushed over to the safe, where Jack was banging on the door.

"Sayid! Sayid, open up! What are you doing?" he yelled through the door.

"What needs to be done," I heard him murmur through the door.

xxx

It had been ten minutes when we heard the shouting and the sound of a fist hitting skin.

"We need to get in there. Locke, you have to tell me the combination," Jack desperately lurched towards the door.

"I can climb through the vents," I looked up at the narrow opening and swallowed past the fear.

It would be dark inside. Very dark.

"Yes! I'll try to find something to open the door. Here," Jack pushed a chair at me and went in search of a toolbox.

I climbed up on the chair and gingerly opened the cool, dusty grate. Pangs of foreboding shook my brain, but I dove past them and climbed up. My small form could just fit; I slid through the cold metal and took a right. I had the whole area mapped out in my head, and with another left turn, I could hear Sayid and Ben's voices seeping through the vent beneath me.

"Stop! Please, stop," Ben panted, and I heard another punch. I winced, and fumbled to move the vent. I dropped down just as Sayid's fist was about to hit Ben's face again.

They both froze, Ben's eyes streaming and face bloody, Sayid shocked.

"What are you doing here?" Sayid finally asked as I combed dust out of my hair.

"Making sure you don't kill anyone. I'm pretty sure torture is against the law in America," I finished brushing the grey fluffs out of my long brown locks and let my eyes take in Ben's injured form.

"That's what many people think," Sayid murmured under his breath, dropping his fist to his side. "What do you suggest we do with him?"

I met Ben's eyes, holding them when I answered. "I think we should keep him tied up. But I was never one for physical punishment. Feed him, at least."

Sayid gritted his teeth. "Fine," he moved to push the door open.

Jack's hands were raised to slam on the door again, but he stopped short when he saw us."Oh. What happened?" he asked.

"Feed him, but keep him tied up," Sayid instructed, making his way out of the room and walking to the ladder leading up and out of the hatch. "Don't trust him, though, Jack. He is lying."

"Fine. I'll get him some food. Locke, you can go back to camp. Send Kate down, it's her turn to man the button." Jack left the room, and Locke glanced once more at me before going the same way as Sayid.

I smiled slightly as I turned back to Ben, teeth baring in a feral grin.

"Look's like it's just you and me, Benjamin. What fun we're going to have."


	8. Chapter 8

**Another chapter, and so soon! I guess I was inspired :) It's short, but it's something. **

**Enjoy!**

**p.s. I do think I warned that it was going to be a slow burn, but just restating that fact. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Elliot. **

Chapter 8:

I was left alone with Ben quite a lot over the next few days. They had no reason to suspect me of anything (other than Sayid, of course, who seemingly would always suspect me of something). We ended up talking about many of our similar interests-books, food, business. Mostly books. I gave him a few of mine that I had read already. We started off talking about the corruption of innocence in _Catcher in the Rye_ and made our way to the similarities between the breakdown of society in _Lord of the Flies_ and the little society our plane crashers had formed.

Eventually we got to talking about our fathers.

He asked me about what it was like growing up under a tyrant. I told him it was like not having a family at all. I was an employee, a commodity being groomed to take over. I asked him what it was like growing up under someone who he eventually betrayed.

"So you did do your research," he smiled bitterly. "I like to keep up the claim that I was always a native. I would appreciate if you didn't broadcast that."

"Of course not. I understand the value of privacy," I tilted my head in acknowledgement.

He took me in for a few moments, eyes fluttering over my face. For once, I let the mask drop.

I let the fear and loneliness I felt so often bleed through my eyes. I let Benjamin Linus, longtime, lifetime enemy of my father, really see me.

"My father was...not a nice man," Ben started. "I hated him. I still hate him. But it was very hard betraying him."

"I don't think it's ever easy betraying someone you're that connected to, whether you want that connection or not," I crossed my legs and leaned back against the cool metal of the makeshift prison.

I heard a bang from outside that indicated someone was entering the hatch. We were silent for a few moments.

"Wise words," Ben smirked, going back to the leader that didn't care.

I let my face turn stony again, and smiled cooly at him. "Thanks for the little bit of culture. Next time I'll make tea."

And with that I got up and let Kate take over the next shift.

xxx

I hadn't talked much to the Tailies, those from the tail end of the plane, but their leader Ana Lucia had a sudden interest in me. Maybe she was as suspicious of me as Sayid was, being a police officer and all. Or at least, that's what I assumed when she asked me to go along with them and Charlie to look for the balloon Ben told them he landed as Henry Gale.

We started the one day walk on his crudely drawn map, and Charlie and Sayid made small talk as we girls tread on behind them.

"So you'd be in school by now back home, huh?" she finally broke the heavy silence.

I glanced over at her, hitching my backpack higher up on my back and clutching onto the straps as we walked. "Yes," I replied shortly.

"Not much for small talk, huh?" she grinned at me, and I furrowed my brow. Grinning? That wasn't the usual response I got with my standoffish nature.

I shrugged instead of replying.

She laughed. "I like you. You're a tough one."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Thanks?" I bit out, confused as to whether she meant that last part as a compliment.

And why the hell was she trying to be so friendly?

We walked in silence for a few more minutes before she finally noticed the gun in Charlie's hand.

"Hey. Shouldn't you give the gun to someone who actually knows how to use it?" Ana Lucia raised her eyebrows, striding to a stop and holding out her hand.

Charlie looked from the gun to her with coldness in his eyes. "Maybe, but I don't really think you should be the one to hold it. You weren't responsible with the one you had in the past, as I remember."

"Well I don't exactly trust that one over there not to shoot me. So we don't really have any other choices here, do we?" she nodded to Sayid.

"I can hold it," I raised an eyebrow at the strange look the three gave me.

"You know how to shoot, kid?" Ana Lucia grinned in surprised delight.

"Don't call me that," I muttered, reaching my hand out to snag the gun from Charlie's grip. "Yes. I know how to shoot a gun."

Ana Lucia started walking again, and Charlie shrugged and continued after her. Sayid hung back to stare at me with narrowed eyes.

"Where did you learn how to shoot a gun?" he asked, lips thin as he regarded the dangerous piece of metal in my hand.

I started after Charlie and Ana Lucia, letting Sayid catch up to a steady stride beside me.

"Not really any of your business, is it? I don't exactly ask you where you learned to torture someone," I shot back easily, reveling in the perturbed expression that graced his features.

"I think I've proved that I will not use that skill in vain. You, however, have not proved anything of the sort," he tilted his head to me in challenge.

"Really? You think you used that little talent responsibly when torturing B-Henry?" I tripped over his name, catching myself just in time.

He was silent for a few moments. "You've become rather close with him, haven't you? Any particular reason?" he prodded, tone nasty and suggestive.

I ground my teeth together. "I like him. We have very similar interests."

"Is that so? Would you continue to say that if we don't find the evidence that he is, indeed, telling the truth about who he is?" Sayid shot at me.

"Of course. Him being an Other would have no effect on his personality," I declared, lifting my chin a little in defiance.

"Hmm," he hummed his disagreement, and stopped talking to me.

We had to stop for the night after a few more hours of walking. We made camp in a small clearing of the jungle. Charlie was asleep immediately, and I turned on my flashlight to continue reading _The Great Gatsby_ (Ben and I had agreed to talk about it at our next meeting). I could hear Sayid and Ana Lucia's faint mumbling in the background.

When I finally lay down, I kept the flashlight on near my vision, pointing outward so that it didn't disturb anyone's sleep. There was almost no moon tonight, and it was very dark out beneath the trees.

My breathing slowed, and I heard the next part through sleepy ears.

"You were a cop. What do you think of Elliot? Does she strike you as suspicious?" Sayid murmured.

"Suspicious? Not really, no. I think she might seem abrupt and harsh sometimes, but that's probably from however she was raised. To be honest, she seems a little bit like she has PTSD or something. Her hands shake when she went down into the hatch earlier and it's dark for a while there until you reach the ground. She just left the flashlight on, also. An intense fear of the dark. I've seen it plenty of times before," Ana Lucia whispered back, and I could feel her eyes on my form.

I swallowed but didn't move. PTSD. What an accurate description. She really knew her stuff.

I knew Sayid disagreed. He would go on thinking I was bad. And yes, maybe I was in some ways. I wouldn't say my hands were clean, in any sense. But I had to hope that there was redemption for those who tried. I was trying with my friendship with Ava. That showed that I was worth saving, right?

I contemplated my chances and prayed for no nightmares as I finally drifted off into dark oblivion.


End file.
